Jose Mourinho settled a massive compensation package with Chelsea and then declared he was proud of his achievements with the Premier League side.
Mourinho finally agreed on a financial settlement late this evening after
agreeing to leave the club by mutual consent earlier in the day.
Chelsea have since appointed their director of football Avram Grant as his
replacement.
Mourinho's decision to step down as manager was due to a breakdown in his
relationship with the Chelsea hierarchy.
But he is set to land a reported £20million pay-off as compensation for the
remaining three years of his contract - worth around £6m a year.
Mourinho said: 'I am very proud of my work in Chelsea Football Club and I
think my decision in May 2004 to come to England was an excellent one.
'It was a beautiful and rich period of my career. I want to thank all Chelsea
FC supporters for what I believe is a never-ending love story.
'I wish great success to the club, a club that will be forever connected to
me for some historical moments.
'I wish the players happiness in football and in their family life. Finally
on my wife's and children' s behalf we thank the great professionalism of their
school teachers and the beauty of so many friends.'
After a night of negotiations at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea finally released a
statement confirming that all contractual arrangements had been sorted out with
their former coach.
The statement read: 'Chelsea Football Club has reached agreement on all
contractual arrangements with Jose Mourinho.'